


Watch and Learn

by Zenece



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-29
Updated: 2012-07-29
Packaged: 2017-11-11 00:03:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/472193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zenece/pseuds/Zenece
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected encounter leads to unexpected experiences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Watch and Learn

Kathryn Janeway was wandering through the corridors of Voyager, still too wired up on coffee to go to bed. It was already a few hours into the graveyard shift. 

She had briefly contemplated going to the Holodeck to play some Velocity to tire herself out. But she knew that the caffeine buzz in her body only gave her a false sense of vigor and that she would pay the price later for burning energy she didn’t really have. 

Instead she was now on her way to the Mess Hall to get some tea and watch the stars warp past in the hopes that her body would get the message and be assuaged by their hypnotizing effect.

At the end of the corridor in front of her, the doors of the Mess Hall slid open and roars of laughter drifted towards her.   
Kathryn came to a halt as she remembered that Tom Paris was organizing his monthly “Poker Night” that evening.  
She sighed. So much for ‘peace and quiet’ in the Mess Hall.

Turning to go back to her quarters, Kathryn suddenly remembered her favorite spot on the Al-Batani when she was still a young Science Officer.   
Back then, ships still had an observation deck, situated above the deflector dish, with big windows. The bluish hue of the warp field that emanated from the deflector added something exotic to the whole ‘stargazing experience’ that couldn’t be found anywhere else on board. In newer ships, such as Voyager, the room had been reduced to a mere observation station, but it would still do, Kathryn figured. And it would certainly be quiet. 

~

On the lower decks of the ship, Kathryn reached the end of the corridor that led to deflector control. The observation station was situated behind that. 

As expected, no one was at deflector control when she entered. She grinned, remembering the times when she’d snuck past her colleagues on the Al-Batani during her off-duty hours, to get to her quiet corner on the observation deck.

Entering the observation station, she smiled when she saw the familiar blue hued stars passing by. The door slid closed behind her and it was too dark to see where she was going. The lights should’ve automatically switched on as she entered, but they hadn’t. She was about to order soft illumination so she could look for a comfortable place to sit down when she heard an unexpected and unidentifiable sound above the hum of the engines. 

She stood still for a moment, concentrating. The engines sounded a little louder here than on the rest of the ship, and for a moment she figured there hadn’t been a sound at all when it sounded again. It was almost like a long moan. Kathryn looked around to find out where it was coming from. 

She took a few steps further into the room when at the far end she could hear some rustling. Near the window she could make out two silhouettes that were undoubtedly engaged in intimate business. They hadn’t noticed Kathryn’s presence.

Mildly embarrassed, Kathryn stepped into the shadows of two large storage containers. She figured it would probably be less awkward for all of them to leave and pretend she’d never seen them rather than to interrupt their lovemaking and lecture them about such inappropriate public displays of affection. She was about to turn around and silently disappear when one of them moaned again. 

“You are a wicked witch.” The female voice whispered hotly to her lover. 

It was only when the response came, that Kathryn realized that both of them were women. 

She blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected two women. 

As she looked at them again from her hiding place, it was obvious from their forms that they were both female. With a curiosity she couldn’t identify, Kathryn found herself watching them for a moment and so many questions about lesbians that she had never thought about were now asked and answered at the same time.

Much to her surprise, she found herself getting aroused by the sight. 

Kathryn shook her head and turned around. This wouldn’t do. She just had to leave and pretend it never happened. 

~

B’Elanna Torres hummed quietly as she entered deflector control. She enjoyed being on the night shift once in a while. It was nice to play with her beloved engines without being constantly interrupted by people. 

She put her toolbox on the nearby console and started to reroute power away from the three positronic relays that needed to be replaced. Once the console beeped to alert her that the relays had been shut down completely, she headed over to the observation station with her toolbox to get them out and replace them with the new ones. 

B’Elanna stepped into the room and noticed the lights didn’t switch on. With a slight frown she ordered full illumination. 

“Shit!” The muffled curse came from the far end of the room and the rustling of fabric being gathered followed suit. 

B’Elanna took a few steps into the room. “What’s going – oh!” She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Ensigns Ahni Jetal and Marie Kaplan grabbing their clothes as quickly as possible. They froze as they saw Torres. 

“Sir…” Kaplan offered weakly.

“Ensigns.” B’Elanna replied dryly, already recovering from her unexpected discovery and finding the whole thing rather amusing. 

“We were…” Jetal started, but B’Elanna stopped her by holding up her hand.

“It’s alright Ensign, just take it somewhere private, okay?” 

“Yes Sir.” “Right away Sir.” Both of them replied relieved. They grabbed their belongings and speeded out of the room before Torres could change her mind. 

B’Elanna grinned behind their backs and shook her head, remembering getting caught herself more than once. The foolishness of youth, she mused. 

~

The door had opened and B’Elanna had stepped in just as Kathryn had been about to leave. She’d had the reflex to drop back into the shadows as B’Elanna ordered the lights on and had watched the whole scene unfold before her without being seen by any of the other women. And now she was standing there, pressed against one of the storage containers, and silently wondered how she ended up in that situation. 

There was no way she could get out while B’Elanna was still there. Maybe she could wait until the engineer had finished what she came to do in the first place.   
Carefully, Kathryn peeked around the corner to figure out what B’Elanna was doing so she could estimate how much time it would take her. 

Kathryn leaned a bit further and for a horrifying moment she could feel herself losing her balance. As she grabbed the storage container to regain her footing, it scraped over the floor, giving away her position entirely. 

“Who’s there?” B’Elanna spun around at the noise. 

“Captain?” She asked questioningly as she noticed Janeway half hidden behind the crates, looking embarrassed beyond belief. 

“What are you…” Then she remembered Jetal and Kaplan and she inadvertently gazed in the direction where she’d caught the two women only moments earlier. 

She looked back at Janeway, the tiniest of grins forming around the corners of her mouth. 

“Were you watching them?” She blurted it out before she could think any better of it but was even more surprised when Janeway blushed fiercely. 

“No, of course not. No.” Janeway stammered very uncharacteristically.   
Then she regrouped. “I just came in and I… And they didn’t see me, so I thought I’d leave again, and then you came in and I thought that if you saw me, you’d wonder what I was doing here and think I’d been watching them, which is exactly what happened. Not me watching them I mean, but you thinking that I did…” 

She stopped and sighed as B’Elanna was trying hard to keep her face straight.

“And now you think I’m a babbling idiot as well as a voyeur.” She added dejectedly. 

B’Elanna couldn’t help but burst out laughing at that.

Kathryn threw her an annoyed look but then the absurdity of the situation struck her and she too started laughing. 

B’Elanna shook her head. “Why did you come here anyway?” 

Indicating the window, Kathryn answered. “To watch the stars, hoping it would help me sleep.” 

Grinning wider, B’Elanna replied. “But instead you wound up watching lesbian sex? I bet that won’t help at all.” 

Still embarrassed, but no longer deadly so, Kathryn sighed. “You won’t forget this, will you?” 

“Probably not.” B’Elanna answered lightly. “It’s too much fun seeing you blush.”

Kathryn shook her head. “Yes well, I’ve had enough excitement for one evening. Goodnight Lieutenant.” 

“Goodnight Captain.” B’Elanna replied as the other woman headed for the door. 

“Sweet dreams!” She added as an afterthought when the door was already closing and even though she couldn’t see it, she was sure Kathryn was blushing again.

~

Once again, Kathryn tried to get comfortable on her other side. She’d been tossing and turning for the better part of an hour already and was no more ready to fall asleep than she had been at the beginning. 

Her mind insisted on reliving the scenes of earlier, shamelessly adding details and filling in blanks. She felt her body responding to the images, just as it had before, and vaguely wondered why the idea of two women together suddenly set her on fire. She’d never given lesbian love much conscious thought. She’d always figured it was ‘not her cup of tea’. But now the idea seemed to consume her and the memory of seeing the two women together aroused her more than she had been in a long time.

Her body now buzzing with pent up sexual energy, Kathryn had no choice but to give in to it. Her hands caressed her own flesh like the hands of Marie Kaplan had caressed Ahni Jetal’s body.   
On some level, Kathryn knew she shouldn’t be thinking about her crew like that. Yet in her imagination it wasn’t Marie and Ahni making love but rather Kathryn touching and being touched by some nameless and faceless woman until it ended in sweet relief. 

As Kathryn lay there, tangled in the sheets, still breathing hard, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be touched by a woman for real.

~

A few weeks later Kathryn sat in the Mess Hall, eating a surprisingly edible stew that Neelix had concocted.   
There were only a handful of people there. The lunch hour rush had already passed. 

She’d already half finished her plate when the Mess Hall doors opened and in came Ahni Jetal and Marie Kaplan.   
Her mind provided her immediately with a vivid flashback of that night a few weeks ago and Kathryn’s first instinct was to hide. But then she relaxed, recalling that they had never even known she had seen them so there was no reason for any awkwardness. 

Behind the cover of her meal, Kathryn watched the two young women as they got something to eat and sat down on the other side of the Mess Hall.   
They were clearly affectionate with each other, but nowhere near overly so. 

Kathryn observed them for a while, mindlessly eating the rest of her stew.   
During the last weeks, she had tried not to think of what happened at the observation station. And she’d certainly not given any more conscious thought to her actions afterwards. The next morning she’d simply taken a long cold shower and filed the previous night away in her mind as an ‘anomalous incident requiring no further attention’. 

But watching the two women interact again peaked her curiosity.   
Why was it, she wondered, that lesbianism suddenly intrigued her so? She’d known lesbians in the past and never thought anything of it, good or bad. It simply had never been of any interest to her. 

Ahni touched Marie’s arm and to Kathryn it seemed like the softest, most gentle contact possible between two human beings. Marie smiled in return and it appeared as though it could light up the whole room.   
Kathryn wondered if she had ever seen that between a man and a woman. She’d certainly never felt it. 

“Enjoying the view?”

Kathryn looked up, her musings interrupted.  
“I beg your pardon?”

“I asked if you were enjoying the stew.” B’Elanna repeated. “From the look on your face it must be really good.” 

Kathryn blinked, confused. “It’s okay I guess.” 

“Well, I’ll just have to get me some then.” B’Elanna replied.

As Neelix filled her plate, B’Elanna watched her Captain. She seemed preoccupied, staring in the distance. B’Elanna followed her look and noticed Ahni Jetal and Marie Kaplan at the other end of the Mess Hall.   
She frowned. Was Janeway watching them again? 

Turning back to the Captain, B’Elanna was surprised to find an almost wistful look in the blue eyes. Then the other woman sighed and shook her head, an air of dejection radiating off her.

B’Elanna had intended to have a quick lunch alone, but now something compelled her to take an interest in whatever it was that Janeway seemed so broody about. Did it have something to do with Ahni and Marie? 

“Mind if I sit?” 

Kathryn looked up and indicated the other seat. “Please do.”

She threw a last look in the direction of the two young ensigns and B’Elanna purposefully followed her gaze. 

“You seem to have taken a special interest in them.” She tried to make it sound casual, as though she wasn’t implying anything. 

Kathryn chose to ignore the subtext. “How long have they been together?” She asked offhandedly.

“Eh, about a year I guess.” B’Elanna answered, still wondering why Janeway was so interested.

“They seem very happy together.” Kathryn added pensively.

B’Elanna nodded slowly. “They are. Kaplan really blossomed when she started dating Jetal. She was much more quiet and reserved when she was still with Baytard.” 

“Pablo Baytard, the pilot?” Kathryn asked surprised. “So she wasn’t always… I mean she didn’t…” Kathryn realized she sounded like a babbling idiot again.   
“She also likes men?” She got out eventually.

B’Elanna chuckled. “I guess so. Although she did tell me once that she does prefer women.”   
As an afterthought she added casually. “Can’t say I blame her.” 

Kathryn blinked a couple of times, not sure she’d caught the meaning of that last part right.   
“You… too?” She uttered.

If Janeway’s eyebrows rose any higher, they’d disappear into her hairline, B’Elanna thought. She wondered briefly how she got in this kind of conversation with her Captain. But it seemed that it was the other woman who couldn’t let go of the topic. 

“Well, we’ve all experimented, haven’t we?” B’Elanna countered neutrally. 

A flash of wonder crossed Kathryn’s features and B’Elanna read it for what it was.   
“You haven’t?” 

Kathryn frowned. “No.”   
She couldn’t even remember a single moment where the possibility had ever remotely crossed her mind. 

“They say it’s never too late…” B’Elanna offered semi-serious.   
She grabbed her plate and got up. “I’m late for an Engineering Staff Meeting.” 

Kathryn only nodded pensively.

~

Kathryn Janeway nervously looked over her shoulder for the umpteenth time to make sure nobody saw what she was doing. Not that she was doing anything wrong, or even anything out of the ordinary for that matter. She was just selecting a Holoprogram and engaging every privacy lock she could think of. 

Once the selected program was up and running, she cast one last nervous look around and entered, making sure the doors were locked behind her. 

Inside the bar was dimly lit and there was soft music playing in the background. A few people were sitting at the tables, some were dancing, another handful was sitting at the bar. 

Kathryn chose an empty spot next to an attractive brunette with legs that seemed to go on forever.   
Nervously fidgeting with her hands, she tried to relax.

“Hi there. Can I buy you a drink?” The brunette asked.

Kathryn nodded. “Whatever you’re having.”

The woman signaled the bartender and two dry martinis appeared in front of them. 

“Thanks.” Kathryn spoke softly.

The woman smiled, her teeth perfect and pearly white. “I’m Sarah.” 

“Kathryn.” Kathryn responded bashfully. She didn’t know what to do next, so she fished the olive out of her drink and took a sip to calm her nerves.

She had never run a Holoprogram like this, a bar where people went for one-night hook-ups with holographic total strangers. But it seemed like the only option she had. 

The conversation she’d had with B’Elanna had stuck with her. And she thought that maybe if she did a little experimenting of her own, she could get the whole lesbian thing out of her system. Of course being a Captain on a starship of about one hundred and fifty people, lightyears away from home, severely limited her options to experiment. That was where the Holodeck came in.

She’d only had sex on a Holodeck a few times, and only once with a hologram. The experience hadn’t been the best ever, but it hadn’t been horrible either. It had just been sex, different, but still sex. 

Taking another sip of her martini, Kathryn wondered what it was she hoped to gain from this. 

“So, what do you do Kathryn?” The hologram asked. 

“I’m a Starfleet Captain.” K athryn answered politely.

Sarah nodded. “I’m a lawyer.” 

At least this program didn’t seem too sleazy, Kathryn thought. She’d half expected to meet topless Dabo-girls ready to throw themselves at anyone and anything. Not that it mattered because photons were photons, but she’d rather spend the evening with a hologram pretending to be a lawyer than a hologram pretending to be a Dabo-girl. 

“I’m just passing through town for a case I’m trying.” Sarah continued conversationally. “Are you from around here?” 

Kathryn shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’m from Bloomington, Indiana.” 

“You’re a long way from home then.” Sarah pointed out.

Toying with her glass, Kathryn nodded glumly. “Yeah…”   
She took another sip from her glass, finding it almost empty already. 

Sarah noticed it and motioned for the bartender to give them a refill.  
“Let me buy you another one.” 

“Oh no.” Kathryn countered. “It’s my turn.” 

“It’s on me.” Sarah said. “I don’t buy just anyone a drink, you know, let alone two.”

Kathryn smiled. “Well, thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” The other woman said. She placed her hand on Kathryn’s fidgeting hand and squeezed it softly. “You have a beautiful smile Kathryn.” 

The smile on Kathryn’s face faltered somewhat and she took a nervous breath. 

“Would you like to dance?” Sarah asked and before Kathryn had time to say or do anything, she’d already taken her hand to help her off the barstool. 

Reminding herself that this was only a Holoprogram and that she could stop it at any time, Kathryn decided to go with the flow. Her goal was to experiment after all.

Sarah guided her to the dance floor and pulled Kathryn close to her, placing one hand at the small of Kathryn’s back.   
Uneasily Kathryn placed her hands on what she considered to be neutral body parts: Sarah’s upper arms. 

The brunette laughed heartily. “I don’t bite.”  
She took Kathryn’s hands and placed them just above her shapely buttocks as she subtly swayed her hips. Putting her arms around Kathryn’s neck, she pulled the other woman close so that their bodies were almost touching, and started dancing slowly to the music. 

After a few minutes, when Kathryn had finally started to relax, Sarah moved her head closer and for a moment Kathryn thought she was going to kiss her. 

“You’re a good dancer.” The brunette spoke softly in her ear. 

She moved closer and their bodies touched. Kathryn was intimately aware of breasts pressing against hers. 

Sarah moved her head to brush her cheek softly against Kathryn’s. Then she tilted her head back, slowly heading for the other woman’s mouth.

Kathryn waited for the kiss that was about to follow, wondering what it would feel like.   
Soft lips tenderly brushed against her own and she gave in to the gentle touch, letting it deepen as tongues came into play.

Their kiss was warm, sensual and sweet. It was very nice, Kathryn thought, but it didn’t arouse her. And when Sarah whispered in her ear if she wanted to go somewhere private, she found herself saying ‘no’. It wasn’t because she was afraid to say yes, but because she felt no attraction of a sexual nature to Sarah, no desire to make love to her. 

Lesbian love was not for her after all, Kathryn concluded. It had just been a fascination with something unknown and therefore intriguing, but nothing more. And so the need to continue this experiment was no longer present.

Ending the Holoprogram, Kathryn walked back to her quarters, feeling strangely relieved. 

~

In the observation station B’Elanna Torres was getting comfortable. If it hadn’t been for Janeway, she never would have thought of this place to go to for some peace and quiet. 

Leaning back against some storage containers, she enjoyed the view. It was understandable, she mused, that Jetal and Kaplan had chosen this place for their secret tryst. It was quiet, secluded and the view was spectacular. 

B’Elanna frowned when she heard the door open. So much for peace and quiet. She leaned forward to see who was interrupting her alone time.   
“Who’s there?”

Kathryn entered and squinted at the figure near the window.   
“B’Elanna? I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone else would be here.”

“Just like last time huh?” B’Elanna couldn’t help but tease her commanding officer. 

“Alright, alright…” Kathryn held up her hands good-naturedly, turning to leave. “I’ll just go find another spot.”

“You don’t have to go. There’s room for two.” B’Elanna said.   
“I even promise I’ll try not to make fun of you.” She jested. 

Kathryn rolled her eyes. “Alright.” She grinned and made her way over to sit down next to B’Elanna. 

They sat quietly for a while, enjoying the view. 

“I tried it, you know. Kissed a woman.” Kathryn spoke softly. She hadn’t meant to ever confess that particular experience, but considering they were back at the place where the whole thing had started, it seemed sort of fitting. 

B’Elanna turned her head to watch the Captain. If she was surprised to learn that piece of information, she didn’t show it. 

“On the Holodeck.” Kathryn added, still gazing in front of her, suddenly feeling a bit silly about the whole thing. 

“How was it?” B’Elanna asked interested. 

Kathryn pursed her lips, thinking about it. “Not that bad. Not really my thing though.” 

When B’Elanna didn’t answer she turned to look at her, wondering what the other woman thought.   
The brunette rose a little and before Kathryn knew what was happening, B’Elanna kissed her gently but firmly on the lips.

Kathryn froze, totally taken aback. When B’Elanna’s hand softly slid around her neck, slightly pulling her closer, she pulled out of her stupor and her senses flooded with all the sensations that came with thoroughly being kissed.

And she felt herself respond just when B’Elanna drew back.

“Holograms don’t count.” The brunette said, still breathing hard. “NOW you’ve kissed a woman.” 

Kathryn just stared at her, feeling as though she had suddenly been set on fire. And just when B’Elanna started thinking she might have seriously crossed a line, the other woman spoke.

“Kiss me again.” 

B’Elanna frowned, not really having expected that. “What?” 

“Again.” Kathryn spoke in a low voice. 

A predatory grin spread on B’Elanna’s face as she closed the distance again. She was pleased when she found Kathryn responding with equal fervor and growled when the other woman pulled her even closer. 

Without breaking contact, B’Elanna straddled Kathryn’s hips and lowered them both to lie down on the floor. 

She broke the kiss briefly and lifted her head a little, her eyes silently asking permission to take things further.   
Kathryn looked up at her, lips swollen from kissing, pupils dilated, hair unkempt.   
“Don’t stop.” 

With a sensual grin, B’Elanna opened her Captain’s uniform jacket.

~

With a long moan Kathryn rolled on her side and felt B’Elanna’s warm body spoon against her back.   
“That was amazing.” She breathed. 

She could feel B’Elanna grin against her neck. “I thought you said this wasn’t your thing?” The younger woman teased.

“Clearly I was wrong.” Kathryn stated dryly, then smiled. 

“Clearly.” B’Elanna echoed and yawned. 

Mere minutes later, both women had dozed off, both exhausted by the experience. 

~

Kathryn Janeway woke up because she felt a bit chilly and noticed she was lying on the floor, with her uniform jacket draped over her naked body.

She quickly remembered the circumstances that led to her current situation and looked around to find B’Elanna. But the other woman and her clothes were gone.   
Her own clothes, bar her jacket, lay neatly folded next to her. 

As she sat up and reached for them, her body protested mightily. She was getting way too old to sleep on the floor. 

Getting dressed, she asked the computer for the time.

“The time is oh-seven hundred hours, forty-two minutes.” The dispassionate voice informed her. 

It was later than she would have liked, but she would still be on time for her shift.   
As she tried to get up, her aching back decided she would have to stop by Sickbay first.

~

“Please state the nature of the medical emergency.” The standard opening line of the Doctor greeted her as Kathryn slowly walked into Sickbay. 

“Good morning Captain. How can I help you?” 

Janeway winced. “I fell asleep on the couch yesterday. My back feels like it’s broken.” She felt like a terrible liar, but apparently the Doctor thought nothing of it as he scanned her. 

“Ah yes. Lieutenant Torres came in earlier today with a similar problem.” He applied a hypospray. “This should help ease the pain.”

Kathryn blushed and flexed the muscles of her back. “Feels much better Doctor. Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome Captain. Just refrain from strenuous activities for a day and your back will be good as new.” 

Nodding, Kathryn bit her lip, remembering some very interesting and definitely strenuous activities that had started the problem in the first place. 

~

After taking care of the pressing matters on the Bridge, Janeway turned to her first officer.   
“You have the Bridge, Chakotay. I’ll be in Engineering.” 

As the turbolift took her down, Kathryn felt a nervous flutter in her stomach.

The Engineering team seemed to be in the middle of a diagnostic procedure when the Captain entered.   
B’Elanna was standing at a console near the warp core. 

“Good morning Lieutenant.” Janeway said friendly.

B’Elanna looked up and her features softened a little bit. “Morning Captain.”

“I need to talk to you.” Kathryn stated, slightly widening her eyes to indicate it was private. 

“My office? I’ll be there in five minutes.” B’Elanna pointed at the console, meaning she had to finish what she was working on first.

Kathryn just nodded and headed for the Chief Engineer’s office at the back of Engineering. 

Five minutes later, B’Elanna joined her and closed the door. The look on her face was expectant, but also guarded.

“How’s your back?” Kathryn asked, feeling somewhat nervous. 

B’Elanna grinned. “Better, after stopping by Sickbay.” 

Kathryn smiled. “I know what you mean. I could barely get up.”

“It was worth it though.” B’Elanna said softly. “No regrets.”  
She paused and scanned Kathryn’s face. “You?”

“No.” Kathryn replied after a beat. “But… I’m not sure we should do it again.” She offered hesitantly.

B’Elanna couldn’t hide her disappointment. “You don’t seem entirely certain of that.” 

“Don’t get me wrong B’Elanna, last night was great and I really don’t regret it, but now it was just one night. If we would continue to see each other, then it would be different.” Kathryn tried to explain, even though she wasn’t quite sure what she was trying to say. 

“I don’t see how it would be different.” B’Elanna spoke, wanting to know exactly what the hesitation was all about.

Kathryn opened her mouth, then closed it again and sighed.   
“It would be different…” She started. “Because you are the kind of person I could fall in love with.”

Both women remained still for a moment, absorbing the words. 

Then B’Elanna spoke softly.   
“I’ve loved you for a long time, Kathryn Janeway. And after last night, I know for sure I will love you for a lot longer, no matter what.” She looked up at the other woman with intensity. “I think you want this. I even think you need it. And there’s no reason to be afraid. There’s no reason to deny yourself the experience of loving and being loved. You deserve this.”

Kathryn let out a deep breath, wanting to give in more than anything.

“Trust me.” B’Elanna stepped closer and took Kathryn’s hands in her own.   
She lightly kissed the other woman and grinned when she felt her respond. 

“I guess there might be a little lesbian in there after all.” B’Elanna teased. 

Kathryn smiled, most of her doubts silenced.   
“Maybe even a big one. Let’s find out.”

B’Elanna kissed the other woman again.  
“You know,” she grinned, “my only regret is that I didn’t kiss you years ago.”

Kathryn replied dryly. “If you had, I probably would have shoved you into a bulkhead.”


End file.
